Monstrous Yuletide Legends!
With the end of year holidays among us, I thought it would be fun to review some rather “monstrous” holiday legends that come around this time alongside Old Nick and Krampus…so we’ll start with these annoying critters, the Kalikantzaroi!
The Kalikantzaroi (I’ve also seen it spelled Callicantzari) are an interesting little Greek legend, shared by a few other cultures as well.
Living underground, these little goblins continually saw away at the tree of life which holds up the Earth. Each year they come close to succeeding until Christmas rolls around. At that time, the earth opens up, and the Kallikantzaroi are allowed free reign. So excited by this break, they apparently forget all about their dreadful task, climbing up to the surface and sneaking into homes through January 6th (the Epiphany), stealing sweets, and otherwise causing disturbances and all around trouble.
Being rather dim bulbs, they supposedly can’t count past three – which of course in Christianity represents the Holy Trinity, and if they even did try to utter that third number, they would immediately perish. Alas, their raucous partying time (I envision a certain bar scene from the movie, “Gremlins”) eventually grows short, and on the Epiphany, the little nasties are forced to go back to their home. When they arrive, they probably stand aghast to see the tree of life has fully healed from their previous work. Undeterred, they pull out their trusty axes and saws, and begin again…
….totally unrelated but it came to mind when I was writing this was Nidhoggr the Norse/Scandinavian dragon who gnaws away at the roots of another world tree, the Yggdrasil. Trapped in the roots by his growing size, he would eventually break free one day and signal the beginning of Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods. Hmm – world trees being sawed/chewed at by mystical beings which could bring about the end of the world - and I thought the Emerald Ash Borer was threat enough to a tree! But I digress…
There are many varied descriptions of what the Kalikantzaroi look like. The consensus seems to be they are small, dark, hairy creatures that come out at night with sharp teeth and long tails, looking almost like little satyrs with goat-like legs. Despite their rather extreme underground occupation, they are looked at as more like trickster-type faeries instead of having truly evil/malign intent. From pagan roots (pun not intended), they have become enmeshed within Christianity like many other holiday pagan traditions.
How to keep them at bay if you find a few of these little guys snooping about on your front porch, looking for a way in? Put a colander outside. They will spend all night trying to count the holes, never making it past two (that dreaded number three again) and thus never get in. Leave the fireplace on at night or keep all the lights on in the house, since being underworld dwellers, they can’t stand the light. Lastly, just be a nice old soul to monsters and pass ‘em some sausages or fried dough to keep them happy. After all, can you blame them for wanting to let out a little steam once a year with the workload they’re carryin’?
The Kalikantzaroi (I’ve also seen it spelled Callicantzari) are an interesting little Greek legend, shared by a few other cultures as well.
Living underground, these little goblins continually saw away at the tree of life which holds up the Earth. Each year they come close to succeeding until Christmas rolls around. At that time, the earth opens up, and the Kallikantzaroi are allowed free reign. So excited by this break, they apparently forget all about their dreadful task, climbing up to the surface and sneaking into homes through January 6th (the Epiphany), stealing sweets, and otherwise causing disturbances and all around trouble.
Being rather dim bulbs, they supposedly can’t count past three – which of course in Christianity represents the Holy Trinity, and if they even did try to utter that third number, they would immediately perish. Alas, their raucous partying time (I envision a certain bar scene from the movie, “Gremlins”) eventually grows short, and on the Epiphany, the little nasties are forced to go back to their home. When they arrive, they probably stand aghast to see the tree of life has fully healed from their previous work. Undeterred, they pull out their trusty axes and saws, and begin again…
….totally unrelated but it came to mind when I was writing this was Nidhoggr the Norse/Scandinavian dragon who gnaws away at the roots of another world tree, the Yggdrasil. Trapped in the roots by his growing size, he would eventually break free one day and signal the beginning of Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods. Hmm – world trees being sawed/chewed at by mystical beings which could bring about the end of the world - and I thought the Emerald Ash Borer was threat enough to a tree! But I digress…
There are many varied descriptions of what the Kalikantzaroi look like. The consensus seems to be they are small, dark, hairy creatures that come out at night with sharp teeth and long tails, looking almost like little satyrs with goat-like legs. Despite their rather extreme underground occupation, they are looked at as more like trickster-type faeries instead of having truly evil/malign intent. From pagan roots (pun not intended), they have become enmeshed within Christianity like many other holiday pagan traditions.
How to keep them at bay if you find a few of these little guys snooping about on your front porch, looking for a way in? Put a colander outside. They will spend all night trying to count the holes, never making it past two (that dreaded number three again) and thus never get in. Leave the fireplace on at night or keep all the lights on in the house, since being underworld dwellers, they can’t stand the light. Lastly, just be a nice old soul to monsters and pass ‘em some sausages or fried dough to keep them happy. After all, can you blame them for wanting to let out a little steam once a year with the workload they’re carryin’?
No comments have been added yet.
